Is the Steam Machine worth the wait?

June 22, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In the first few days of testing Valve’s new Steam Machine, Verge senior editor Sean Hollister found himself doing something unexpected: he unplugged his desktop PC and plugged everything — monitors, speakers, mouse, keyboard — into the $1,049 living room console instead. “It just worked,” he says. That moment captures the central tension of the device: it is a PC that behaves like a console, but it costs more than twice as much as a PlayStation 5 and delivers roughly the same graphical performance. Whether that trade-off makes sense depends entirely on what you want from a game machine.

The one change that made the difference

Valve tried this once before. In 2015, the company shipped a Steam Machine that flopped. The problem then was that Valve expected developers to build native Linux games for the platform, and they didn’t come. This time, Valve changed one crucial thing: the machine runs Windows games through a compatibility layer called Proton. “They don’t need Windows, but they do need Windows games,” Hollister explains. “You are literally playing Windows games 90% of the time when you’re running a Steam Machine.” That means the entire decades-deep back catalog of PC games is available on the couch with a controller, no mouse and keyboard required. Developers do not need to modify their games. This is the same technology that made the Steam Deck a success, and it is

Continue reading the full summary in the app — free to try.

Read Full Summary →

Free • No credit card required

Listen to Audio Summary Open in App

Never miss an episode of The Vergecast

Get every new episode summarized in your inbox — free, ~5 minutes to read.

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

What you'll learn

1 (02:00) **Sean Hollister joins to discuss the Steam Machine** - Verge reporter Sean Hollister explains his first impressions after testing Valve's new living room console.
2 (04:26) **Why the Steam Machine exists and Valve's strategy** - Sean details Valve's approach to building hardware they want, even if supply is limited and the experience isn't fully polished yet.
3 (07:49) **How Valve solved the problem from a decade ago** - The key change is Proton, which lets the Steam Machine run Windows games without needing developers to build for Linux.
4 (10:08) **Performance comparison: Steam Machine vs. PS5** - The Steam Machine has roughly PS5-level power but costs about twice as much ($1,049 vs. $600 for a PS5 digital).
5 (11:18) **Hardware specs and real-world performance** - Sean breaks down the AMD Zen 4 CPU, RDNA3 GPU, and 8GB VRAM, explaining why it's best thought of as a 1080p console that upscales to 4K.
6 (13:53) **The price and Valve's cost model** - Sean reacts to the $1,049 price and Valve's claim they are selling at cost, noting the industry's shift due to rising component prices.
7 (16:49) **Is this a razor-and-blades model?** - Discussion of whether Valve plans to make money on game sales rather than the hardware, and how Valve's unique financial position allows them to take risks.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

Sean Hollister

Show Notes

Valve has been trying to crack the living room for more than a decade, and the new Steam Machine is its best attempt yet. It's a little bit PC, a little bit console, and a lot pricy — starting at $1,049, it had a lot to live up to. The Verge’s Sean Hollister has been testing the device, and shares his findings on whether the Steam Machine can hang with PlayStation and Xbox. He also explains why, despite a never-ending list of challenges, Valve is still trying to make this device work.